The Engineer

The Life and Times of Donald F. Simmons

Crazy people

October 3rd, 2003

When I was leaving the poll yesterday I had the closest encounter with a crazy person I've ever had in this city. This woman, maybe my age, started walking right next to me on the sidewalk, ranting angrily about how I looked like her psychiatrist and threatening to push me into traffic. About two years back, my friend Peter got seriously assaulted on the street by some random crazy person, so I was acutely aware that the same thing might be about to happen to me, and there was no one around to bail me out (as happened to Peter). So I just kept walking, and after a very long (and noisy) 30 seconds or so she spat at me and stalked off in the other direction.